27-05-2025
Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton facing DUI charge
Mary Lou Retton, the former gymnast who became the first American woman to win Olympic all-around gold, was arrested for driving under the influence in West Virginia earlier this month.
She's facing a misdemeanor charge for 'driving under influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs' and was released after posting a $1,500 bond on May 17, according to records from the Magistrate Court of Marion County (WV).
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Retton, 57, had a health scare in October 2023 that required a stay in the intensive care unit due to 'a very rare form of pneumonia,' her daughter, McKenna Lane Kelley, said in a social media post. Kelley posted on a crowdfunding website that her mother was not insured, and the family received over $450,000 in donations. On Oct. 30, 2023, Retton wrote in an Instagram post that she was recovering.
In January 2024, Retton appeared on 'Today' wearing a nose cannula to receive additional oxygen, and she had 'faced death in the eyes' while in the ICU.
'They were saying their goodbyes to me,' Retton said about her daughters staying with her in the hospital.
Retton rose to fame as a 16-year-old who captured the all-around title at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. She clinched gold in dramatic fashion, scoring a perfect 10 on vault in the final rotation of the competition to edge out Romania's Ecaterina Szabo.
Retton helped the U.S. to a silver in the team final and went on to win three more individual medals: a silver on vault and bronzes on uneven bars and floor exercise.
Her success in Los Angeles — an Olympics in which Soviet gymnasts were noticeably absent due to the country's boycott — made her an American sports icon. She was the first gymnast depicted on a Wheaties box and appeared in films and television shows like 'Baywatch.'
